God s Indescribable Gift December 25, Corinthians 9:6-15

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1 I. Introduction God s Indescribable Gift December 25, Corinthians 9:6-15 Once again let me wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I suspect that by now most of you have had the opportunity to open your presents some of you last night and the rest of you this morning before church. I can still remember when I was growing up how we waited for the time to open presents. (Those memories from a long time ago are the last memories to go they tell me). Early on Christmas morning my brother and my sister and I would start our incessant question, Can we get up yet? I think we usually started our call around 3 am and continued until our parents relented usually around 6 am. So by this time on Christmas morning, we would have all our presents opened and perhaps some already broken. The Scripture reading this morning is about giving gifts, but I don t want to talk about our giving to the church or to others as we see in the first 9 verses. This morning as we think about Christmas gifts, it seems appropriate to look at the verse about God s gift to us verse 15 says: Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! For the last month or so, most of us have been concerned about choosing just the right Christmas gifts to give to the special people in our lives. As you think back over all the gifts that you have received, have you ever received an indescribable gift? Have you ever received a gift that was beyond description? As I thought about this for a while, I wondered what kind of gift would it have to be to be called indescribable? Would it be a gift that you open and say, This is beautiful. It s something that I ve wanted all my life! What is it? Or maybe it would be a gift that carries a lot of emotional feelings with it. It was given to you by someone very special and it was a complete surprise when you opened it. You ll treasure it always because of the memories that it brings. Would that make it an indescribable gift? Or maybe it would be a gift that you cared so little about that you wouldn t even bother to find words to try to describe it. What is an indescribable gift? At this time of year we all try do our best to describe the wonderfulness of God s gift of Jesus Christ to us. Some of the greatest music ever composed was written about God s indescribable gift. There s Handel s Messiah, Joy to the World, Silent Night, Holy Night just to name a few. 1

2 Poets, painters, sculptors have used the tools of their trade to pay tribute to Jesus, the gift of God s love. Now Paul says, Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift. Why does Paul call Jesus indescribable? I think there are at least four reasons. II. Four reasons Jesus is called indescribable A. Because of His nature The first reason that Paul calls Jesus indescribable is because of His nature. How do you describe Jesus? What words would you choose? Turn to Matthew 1: How do you describe a baby born of a virgin? How do you describe God with us? How do you describe God in flesh, walking living on earth and reaching out to those that are in need of healing, both spiritually and physically? How can we describe something that is spirit when all that we have ever known is physical or material? How do you describe God who has all knowledge when all we have is limited knowledge? How do you describe God who is all powerful? How do you describe the eternal? How do you describe the indescribable? Paul says that we can t. Words just aren t adequate. But many men through the years have tried to describe Jesus. In 325 AD the Council of Nicaea a gathering of all the religious minds of the day tried. Some of you may remember their description but for those who don t know it, here is their description from the Nicene Creed: The one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father [the only-begotten; that is, of the essence of the Father, God of God], Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father. Did you understand all that? Neither do I and I doubt any else does either. This is learned man s attempt to describe the indescribable. Even when we bring together the greatest minds and use the most immense vocabularies, we cannot adequately describe the nature of Jesus. He was and is one of a kind God and man. B. Because of His Purpose in Coming to Earth A second reason Paul called Jesus indescribable is because of His purpose in coming to earth. What did the angel say to the shepherds? For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:11 KJV). In Matthew 20:28 Jesus said, The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Turn to 1 Timothy 1:15. 2

3 What do we celebrate at Christmas? We celebrate the fact that Jesus came into our world to save us. God saw that mankind needed saving. He saw our sins against Him and against mankind. When God looked at our world He knew that our greatest need was not for more wealth or better schools or even a better welfare system. Our greatest need was for a Savior. There will never be peace on earth until men have been lifted out of their sins, their hearts changed, and their way of thinking changed. This can only happen when the Savior has come into their lives. Our greatest need is to be saved from the eternal punishment of hell. How can you describe that? How can you put into words what God accomplished when He sent His only begotten Son into the world? God s gift Jesus Christ is indescribable because of His nature, because of His purpose in coming to earth, and, thirdly, because of the grace by which Jesus was given. C. Because of the Grace by which Jesus was Given To whom do you give Christmas gifts? Basically, you give them to people who have some claim on you. You give a gift to your husband or wife because of that relationship. You give gifts to your children because they are your children. You give gifts to your grandchildren because they are your grandchildren. We buy gifts for family members because they are family. If you give a gift to someone who is not family, it s probably because they bought you a gift last year and you didn t. So you owe them a gift this year and the story goes on. If you give a gift to feed the hungry or clothe those who need clothes or take care of the homeless, you give it because deep down inside you know that you have a debt to humanity. There is a feeling of obligation for them. This is what makes God s gift so special--indescribable, He doesn t owe us anything. In fact, as sinners we were at constant rebellion against Him and His will for our lives. Romans 8:7 says, The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Turn to Romans 5:6-8. Even though we were enemies of God, Christ died for us. God gave this gift, not because He felt obligated to give a gift, but because His love His grace is so overwhelming. The word grace itself means to give something that is NOT deserved. This gift from God is a gift of grace; it s not deserved by any stretch of the imagination. As we think about the manger at Bethlehem, as we think about the Baby Jesus, we must realize that He is a gift of grace. We don t deserve Him or His gift. There are no words to adequately describe God s grace towards us in Jesus. 3

4 D. Because of His Effect on Us Speaking of gifts: When you received the gifts that were purchased for you by loved ones, was your life changed? When you opened any of your gifts this Christmas, was you life changed? Did they make you different? Or will you be the same as you have always been? Now what happens when you receive God s gift? The Bible teaches that when you accept Jesus, the indescribable gift of God, you will never be the same again is because of how He affects your life. This is the 4 th reason that Jesus is called the indescribable gift because of His effect on those who accept God s gift. Here are just some of the effects of this gift: 1. You are forgiven of your sins. The first effect of Jesus coming into your life and your obedience to Him is that you are forgiven of your sins. God forgets them, will not remember them (Isaiah 43:25), and buries them as deep as the sea. Psalm 103:12 says: As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Your guilt has been washed away by Jesus shed blood. 2. You are adopted into God s family. A 2 nd effect of Jesus becoming your Lord and Savior is that you are adopted into His family. Galatians 4:7 says, So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. In Romans 8:17 Paul writes that we are heirs of God and coheirs with Christ. We are brothers and sisters in God s family because we have accepted His indescribable gift. Everything that belongs to Jesus belongs to us. 3. You receive the Holy Spirit. Thirdly, when you accept Jesus, you receive the gift of His Holy Spirit to live in you. 1 John 4:13 says, We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. Turn to John 14:26. The Holy Spirit will guide you, counsel you, protect you and give you strength something you didn t have before you accepted this indescribable gift. 4. You have God s peace. A 4 th effect of God s gift is His peace. You have God s peace the peace that no one can really understands (Philippians 4:7). This peace will allow you to cope with everyday situations as well as those times of extreme trouble or difficulty. 5. You have a heavenly mansion. Finally, because of God s indescribable gift, you have a mansion in heaven waiting for you (John 14:1-3). This heavenly home will last for all eternity and 4

5 that s indescribable, too. These are just a few of the effects or changes that occur when one receives God s indescribable gift. III. Conclusion There is no way we or anyone else can describe God s gift to us Jesus Christ. Better theologians better linguists than you or I have tried and failed. The Apostle Paul considered Jesus and all He has done and then he wrote in Ephesians 3:14, For this reason I kneel before the Father. This is what we need to do this Christmas Day and every day we need to fall on our knees and thank God for His indescribable Gift. And then, tell someone else about your indescribable gift. When God looked down at the troubled, confused, sinful world some 2000 years ago, He saw people looking for peace, looking for the meaning of true life. He wanted to communicate with them and tell them of His love. But if He came in person as the Almighty Jehovah God, He would have scared everyone just as He had done back in Moses time. If He had spoken from the sky, people would hear the thunder of His voice and probably miss His words of love. He decided to send a baby. Babies don t frighten people. Babies are tender, soft, helpless. This way would show God s love in an understandable way to mankind. So when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons (Galatians 4:4). This is indescribable! But the good news is that you don t have to be able to describe Him to accept Him. You just have to make Him your Lord and Savior and allow His Holy Spirit to fill you and change you. This Christmas Day take some time to get away from all the hustle and bustle and take time to thank God for His indescribable gift to you. And then, tell someone else about your indescribable gift. 5